Lets talk about Metabolic Syndrome
This is a group of common health conditions but in combination they tell us that we are at a higher risk of moving towards a serious health disorder/event.
Individually these are:
· elevated blood pressure or taking blood pressure medications
· elevated blood sugar levels
· elevated cholesterol levels
· large waist circumference
Do you have one or more of these?
There is a higher risk of metabolic syndrome if overweight, obese and inactive. Another factor is Insulin resistance which is a condition where our cells don’t respond normally to insulin, more and more insulin is released but the cells don’t pick it up, which raises blood sugar levels.
Many people think “It’ll be ok, I can lose the weight”, or “I’ve been stressed lately so my blood pressure is higher than normal”. When faced with one of these items we can manage, but if we don’t do something our health can get out of hand – weight becomes difficult to shift, or we just lose it to then regain it in a few months, or stress continues without a break leaving us tired, grumpy, and without the energy to make a change. It might be time for a general health check where we analyse your food and other lifestyle factors (sleep, exercise, stress management) and map out a plan towards improved health.
One tool I’ve been utilising when looking at metabolic syndrome with clients is an HTMA, a hair tissue mineral analysis. This provides accurate information on the level of minerals in the hair tissue – different to a blood test as the blood attempts to stay as healthy as possible, while the excess of a nutrient is pushed out to the tissues like the hair, it’s like a prewarning about the levels of our nutrients providing valuable insights. Certain patterns occur that can indicate a blood sugar imbalance, or an adrenal and/or thyroid imbalance, or when there is a lower quantity of magnesium compared to calcium, magnesium should soothe the heart muscle forcing it to relax in response to calcium which stimulates the heart muscle to contract (that’s a very simplified explanation of the process!).
Stress is certainly a factor, but then, personally, I think stress has a part in all of our health challenges! Most of us don’t do enough to actively reduce the amount of stress, or more importantly – to better manage the effect stress has. Have you come across adverse childhood experiences (ACE)? The original study occurred in the 1990’s in California, New Zealand had its own study with results released in 2019. ACE events are things like physical and emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver mental illness, separation or divorce of a parent, parent or partner a problem drinker or alcoholic, household violence. The more ACE’s a child experiences the more that child is likely to suffer later in life due to the excessive activation of their stress response, resulting in things like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, substance abuse, poor academic achievement. Think of it as a high-performance car motor being revved repeatedly over weeks or months without a break. Not that everyone with one or more ACE events will get metabolic syndrome, but the risk is increased. When I ask clients about their level of stress, I’m very aware that more than half of New Zealand children will have an ACE before they’re 4 ½ years old.
If you’d like to book in for a Health Check please contact me on gina@bodyofwork.co.nz
As a disclaimer since I’m not providing this information following a full consultation, please note that this information provided is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.
